- Joined
- Aug 27, 2005
- Messages
- 43,602
- Reaction score
- 26,256
- Location
- Houston, TX
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Conservative
Looks like we have dodged a bullet here in Houston. The part of the storm we end up getting will be weaker than that of Alicia, which I was in back in 1983, and we are on the good side of this storm too. However, I feel bad for Port Arthur and Beaumont. They are going to catch the major part of this storm.
Now for my rant, and I have one hell of a lot to say about this cluster<insert f word here> of an evacuation plan.
Because of the news media's frenzy and hype of this storm, at least 24 people have already died. More blame can fall on city, state, and local officials, who I feel have acted in a reckless and negligent manner. Why am I saying this? Let me first tell you how I approached this storm, and then you will know. I am not a meteorology professional, so once you see my mindset for this storm, then you will see exactly where I am coming from.
1) First of all, I had access to the National Weather Service discussions, as does anyone else who goes to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov . Days ago, the NWS forecasted this storm to go to a cat 5, and then to weaken to a 4 or possibly a 3. I repeat, this was days ago.
2) I stocked up on water, juices, and mre's for 2 weeks, just to be on the safe side. I knew there was a possibility I might need them. I also boarded up the windows on all sides of my home, exept the west side, which I taped, figuring on weaker winds on that side, if the winds should blow in that direction. I had been through Alicia before, so was thoroughly prepared.
3) Next, instead of joining the mass exodus out of Houston, I stayed put, and planned my evacuation, if necessary, in a direction that was opposite of where everyone was going. Turned out that, if I needed to evacuate, the Southwest freeway, heading towards Mexico, was not blocked at all. I called a motel in Victoria, which is northeast of Corpus Christi, and booked a room. Still I made no move to evacuate yet, but continued to monitor the NWS web site. If, somehow, the hurricane were NOT to weaken, and continued to come to Houston, I had a straight shot down the highway nobody else was taking, and would spend the next several days, along with my family, in a comfortable motel room, out of the way of any danger whatsoever.
4) Turns out that I did not need to evacuate at all, since the storm had made a turn to the Beaumont-Port Arthur area, and even if it didnt, I was well prepared to ride out the weakening storm right here in Houston. The worst that could happen would be to lose electric power for a few weeks. That could still happen, but is doubtful at this point. If power is lost, it will be gone for only a few days at the most.
5) So now, here I am, typing this rant.
Now you are beginning to get an idea of the mess the govermnent and news media have made of this evacuation, and people have died and may continue to die because of this gross incompetence.
1) The news media is in a position that it is better to be safe than sorry if they want to keep their jobs. They saw the same data from the NWS that I did, but their reaction was to tell everyone to either get out of Houston or they might die. This was accompanied by graphics that, in no uncertain terms, gave people the impression that Houston was going to be pretty much flattened by this storm. Nothing could have been further from the truth, since the NWS, based on scientific evidence, predicted the strenghening to cat 5, AND ALSO THE WEAKENING OF THE STORM.
2) In a blind panic, most of the population of Houston hit the Freeways north and northwest to escape what they saw as certain doom. In addition, the news media only gave certain evacuation routes, and did not include the route towards Mexico, which would have relived some congestion on the northern routes.
3) The mayor of Houston added to the media frenzy by getting on TV and telling the citizens of Houston pretty much the same thing as the media were telling us. Late yesterday, the mayor changed his tune and told Houstonians that if we were not in flood prone areas, we should stay where we are. But the damage had already been done.
4) The state of Texas could have, and should have, opened up opposing lanes of freeway traffic, so that all lanes led out of Houston. The only reason they eventually did it was because the freeways out of town had all become parking lots. Again, too little, too late.
5) Gasoline has all but disappeared in Houston, and on the routes out of town, so FEMA promised tankers to help motorists who had run out of gas. Guess what? The tankers never showed up. Many people were stranded because, although they had started with full tanks, traveled 20 hours without getting anywhere. Just idling their engines most of the time, and eventually ran out of gas.
So what does this all tell us? That there are many people trapped on the freeways while the storm is coming in. If the storm had stayed cat 5 and was still coming to Houston, these freeways would be death traps, and thousands would have died. But even though the storm has weakened, the NWS is now telling us that it is going to stall and dump 2-3 FEET of rain in East Texas and Arkansas. Many evacuees are still going to be on the freeways at that time, and will be on their own to try and survive.
The incompetence by our govenment, city, state, and local, was bad enough, but the mediawhores gross negligence which led to this ill-planned and executed exodus from Houston is going to be the cause of any loss of life to Houston residents. This is beyond negligence. This is criminal endangerment.
In the end, many will say that they were stirred to action by what happened with Katrina, but that is no excuse. The real reason for this fiasco is political, with government leaders, both Democratic and Republican, more concerned with their own self images than the lives of their fellow citizens they took an oath to protect and serve.
It is high time we threw all the bastards, Democratic and Republican, out of office, and begin to elect officials who will represent the people rather than their own damn selfish vanities.
Finally, I have a word about the mediawhores. Just turn off the damn idiot box TV and start living, for a change. They might need you, but you certainly dont need them.
Now for my rant, and I have one hell of a lot to say about this cluster<insert f word here> of an evacuation plan.
Because of the news media's frenzy and hype of this storm, at least 24 people have already died. More blame can fall on city, state, and local officials, who I feel have acted in a reckless and negligent manner. Why am I saying this? Let me first tell you how I approached this storm, and then you will know. I am not a meteorology professional, so once you see my mindset for this storm, then you will see exactly where I am coming from.
1) First of all, I had access to the National Weather Service discussions, as does anyone else who goes to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov . Days ago, the NWS forecasted this storm to go to a cat 5, and then to weaken to a 4 or possibly a 3. I repeat, this was days ago.
2) I stocked up on water, juices, and mre's for 2 weeks, just to be on the safe side. I knew there was a possibility I might need them. I also boarded up the windows on all sides of my home, exept the west side, which I taped, figuring on weaker winds on that side, if the winds should blow in that direction. I had been through Alicia before, so was thoroughly prepared.
3) Next, instead of joining the mass exodus out of Houston, I stayed put, and planned my evacuation, if necessary, in a direction that was opposite of where everyone was going. Turned out that, if I needed to evacuate, the Southwest freeway, heading towards Mexico, was not blocked at all. I called a motel in Victoria, which is northeast of Corpus Christi, and booked a room. Still I made no move to evacuate yet, but continued to monitor the NWS web site. If, somehow, the hurricane were NOT to weaken, and continued to come to Houston, I had a straight shot down the highway nobody else was taking, and would spend the next several days, along with my family, in a comfortable motel room, out of the way of any danger whatsoever.
4) Turns out that I did not need to evacuate at all, since the storm had made a turn to the Beaumont-Port Arthur area, and even if it didnt, I was well prepared to ride out the weakening storm right here in Houston. The worst that could happen would be to lose electric power for a few weeks. That could still happen, but is doubtful at this point. If power is lost, it will be gone for only a few days at the most.
5) So now, here I am, typing this rant.
Now you are beginning to get an idea of the mess the govermnent and news media have made of this evacuation, and people have died and may continue to die because of this gross incompetence.
1) The news media is in a position that it is better to be safe than sorry if they want to keep their jobs. They saw the same data from the NWS that I did, but their reaction was to tell everyone to either get out of Houston or they might die. This was accompanied by graphics that, in no uncertain terms, gave people the impression that Houston was going to be pretty much flattened by this storm. Nothing could have been further from the truth, since the NWS, based on scientific evidence, predicted the strenghening to cat 5, AND ALSO THE WEAKENING OF THE STORM.
2) In a blind panic, most of the population of Houston hit the Freeways north and northwest to escape what they saw as certain doom. In addition, the news media only gave certain evacuation routes, and did not include the route towards Mexico, which would have relived some congestion on the northern routes.
3) The mayor of Houston added to the media frenzy by getting on TV and telling the citizens of Houston pretty much the same thing as the media were telling us. Late yesterday, the mayor changed his tune and told Houstonians that if we were not in flood prone areas, we should stay where we are. But the damage had already been done.
4) The state of Texas could have, and should have, opened up opposing lanes of freeway traffic, so that all lanes led out of Houston. The only reason they eventually did it was because the freeways out of town had all become parking lots. Again, too little, too late.
5) Gasoline has all but disappeared in Houston, and on the routes out of town, so FEMA promised tankers to help motorists who had run out of gas. Guess what? The tankers never showed up. Many people were stranded because, although they had started with full tanks, traveled 20 hours without getting anywhere. Just idling their engines most of the time, and eventually ran out of gas.
So what does this all tell us? That there are many people trapped on the freeways while the storm is coming in. If the storm had stayed cat 5 and was still coming to Houston, these freeways would be death traps, and thousands would have died. But even though the storm has weakened, the NWS is now telling us that it is going to stall and dump 2-3 FEET of rain in East Texas and Arkansas. Many evacuees are still going to be on the freeways at that time, and will be on their own to try and survive.
The incompetence by our govenment, city, state, and local, was bad enough, but the mediawhores gross negligence which led to this ill-planned and executed exodus from Houston is going to be the cause of any loss of life to Houston residents. This is beyond negligence. This is criminal endangerment.
In the end, many will say that they were stirred to action by what happened with Katrina, but that is no excuse. The real reason for this fiasco is political, with government leaders, both Democratic and Republican, more concerned with their own self images than the lives of their fellow citizens they took an oath to protect and serve.
It is high time we threw all the bastards, Democratic and Republican, out of office, and begin to elect officials who will represent the people rather than their own damn selfish vanities.
Finally, I have a word about the mediawhores. Just turn off the damn idiot box TV and start living, for a change. They might need you, but you certainly dont need them.
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